1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved security tag and a method of making such a security tag. The security tag of the present invention can be used with clothing or other articles in order to prevent theft, for example from a retail store.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the prior art to use a pair of metallic strips attached to an article to prevent theft of the article. In such anti-theft systems, a magnetic field is established at an exit of a retail store. When the metallic strips enter the magnetic field, the magnetic field is disturbed and the presence of the magnetic strips is thereby detected. Upon detection, an alarm is caused to sound.
In lieu of a magnetic based system, radio frequency systems are also commonly known. Such systems use a radio frequency detection and emission device (xe2x80x9cRFDEDxe2x80x9d) attached to an article. A first radio frequency is emitted near an exit of the retail store. When the first radio frequency is detected by the RFDED, the RFDED emits a second radio frequency, which is detected by an alarm system. RFDED""s are commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cradio frequency resistorxe2x80x9d and may be included with a device commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cradio frequency identification strip.xe2x80x9d
The magnetic strips, radio frequency resistor and radio frequency identification strip described above are examples of anti-theft devices commonly in use. After reading this disclosure, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to a magnetic strip, radio frequency resistor or a radio frequency identification strip. These three devices are merely examples of the types of anti-theft devices that may be used with the present invention. Since the commonly used anti-theft devices are usually contained on a strip, such devices are herein referred to as xe2x80x9canti-theft strips.xe2x80x9d
In some of the prior art methods and devices, the anti-theft strip is covered by a fabric-like material, and then the edges of the material are sealed by application of heat or ultrasonic vibrations to encapsulate the anti-theft strip within the material. Such a method and device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,489. A problem with such prior art devices is that the fabric-like material which encapsulates the anti-theft strip is easily separated to remove the anti-theft strip and thereby defeat the security function of the anti-theft strip.
An object of the present invention is to provide a security tag which holds the anti-theft strip in a secure manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of making the anti-theft strip according to the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention includes an improved security tag and a method of making such a security tag. The security tag of the present invention includes two encapsulating strips, with an anti-theft strip between the encapsulating strips, and an adhesive for attaching the encapsulating strips to each other.
In the method of the present invention, a first encapsulating strip is provided, an anti-theft strip is placed on the first encapsulating strip, an adhesive is applied to at least one of the encapsulating strips, and then a second encapsulating strip is provided and pressed to the first encapsulating strip.